Reassessment of the Lethal London Fog of 1952: Novel Indicators of Acute and Chronic Consequences of Acute Exposure to Air Pollution

Abstract

This article develops and assesses novel indicators of respiratory and other morbidity and mortality following London's lethal smog in the winter of 1952. Public health insurance claims, hospital admission rates for cardiac and respiratory disease, pneumonia cases, mortality records, influenza reports, temperature, and air pollutant concentrations are analyzed for December-February 1952-1953 and compared with those for the previous year or years. Mortality rates for the smog episode from December 1952 to February 1953 were 50-300% higher than the previous year. Claims that the smog only elevated health risks during and immediately following the peak fog 5-9 December 1952 and that an influenza epidemic accounted fully for persisting mortality increases in the first 2 months of 1953 are rejected. We estimate about 12,000 excess deaths occurred from December 1952 through February 1953 because of acute and persisting effects of the 1952 London smog. Pollution levels during the London smog were 5-19 times above current regulatory standards and guidelines and approximate current levels in some rapidly developing regions. Ambient pollution in many regions poses serious risks to public health.

Ambient fine particles modify heart rate variability in young healthy adults

“…Our findings are consistent with those even though we studied young healthy adults; as expected, the magnitude of association was larger in those studies where susceptible individuals were included than in ours. These researches in susceptible groups have helped to explain the short-term effects of PM 2.5 air pollution and possible mechanisms of mortality displacement after pollution episodes as the 1952 ''4 days fog'' event in London with an increase in morbidity and mortality related to respiratory or cardiovascular disease (Logan et al, 1953;Bell and Davis, 2001). The possible mechanisms for the acute cardiovascular effects may include endothelial cell, platelet and leukocyte activation as part of inflammatory response, along with increased blood viscosity (Pope et al, 1999(Pope et al, , 2004a and physiological changes such as acute arterial constriction responses (Brook et al, 2002) that may trigger acute cardiovascular events.…”

An empirical model for estimating census unit population exposure in areas lacking air quality monitoring

“…This is especially true for cases when pollution concentrations are high as was seen in an event such as the London Smog of 1952 (Bell andDavis, 2001) or more recently in London in 1991 (Anderson et al, 1995). Less clear is the health impact the lower concentrations of pollution might have.…”

Comparison of regression techniques for mapping fog frequency: application to the Aragón region (northeast Spain)

“…Road traffic is also hampered by fog, leading to an increase in the risk of accidents and limiting driving speeds (Kolisetty et al, 2006). Fog is also important for the quality of life and health of citizens because of its association with respiratory problems (Bell and Davis, 2001;Varughese et al, 2005) and harbouring of harmful particles such as aerosols and trace elements (Rattigan et al, 2002). Fog is also important from an ecological perspective: In arid and semi-arid regions fog is an important source of humidity, enabling the growth of vegetation (Braun-Blanquet and Bolos, 1957;Caceres et al, 2007).…”